Villages man, 23, sentenced for DUI manslaughter

Shown with attorney Gail Grossman, Charles Kusiak, left, pleads no contest to DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage at the Marion County Courthouse in Ocala on Tuesday.

Alan Youngblood/Star-Banner

By Vishal PersaudStaff writer

Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 11:55 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 11:55 a.m.

A man from The Villages was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison Tuesday after he pleaded no contest to driving under the influence-manslaughter in connection with an accident last year.

Charles L. Kusiak, 23, was accused of driving drunk in his 1999 Saab along Buena Vista Boulevard north of the Sumter County line in Marion County. He lost control of the car trying to negotiate a left curve on the roadway, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

The car rotated counter-clockwise and traveled off the roadway, crashing into a utility light pole, and then moved backward and crashed into a tree.

The accident killed Robert J. Kokinakis, 22, also of the The Villages, who was in the passenger seat.

In court Tuesday, Kusiak accepted a plea agreement from the State Attorney’s Office. In addition to the 10-year prison sentence, his driver’s license was permanently revoked and he was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

Circuit Judge Robert Hodges also ordered that restitution be paid to the victim’s family.

After the accident, Kusiak was found in the driver’s seat of the car passed out and slumped toward the seat adjacent to him. Medical personnel at the scene said they smelled alcohol coming from Kusiak and other authorities reported that he was glassy-eyed and his speech was heavily slurred, the report said.

When taken to Leesburg Regional Medical Center, Kusiak failed field sobriety tests and was reported to have a blood alcohol content level of 0.245 on the first sample and then a 0.241 on the second. In Florida, a driver is presumed impaired when the level is 0.08.

Kusiak sustained minor injuries from the accident and was later released from the hospital.

In court, Kusiak was quiet and reserved, garbed in a gray sweater with black horizontal stripes. He made no comments regarding the accident to the judge.

Shortly after Hodges accepted the plea, a bailiff shackled Kusiak with handcuffs and he was taken into custody.

Contact Vishal Persaud at (352) 867-4065 or at vishal.persaud@starbanner.com.

<p>A man from The Villages was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison Tuesday after he pleaded no contest to driving under the influence-manslaughter in connection with an accident last year.</p><p>Charles L. Kusiak, 23, was accused of driving drunk in his 1999 Saab along Buena Vista Boulevard north of the Sumter County line in Marion County. He lost control of the car trying to negotiate a left curve on the roadway, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.</p><p>The car rotated counter-clockwise and traveled off the roadway, crashing into a utility light pole, and then moved backward and crashed into a tree.</p><p>The accident killed Robert J. Kokinakis, 22, also of the The Villages, who was in the passenger seat.</p><p>In court Tuesday, Kusiak accepted a plea agreement from the State Attorney's Office. In addition to the 10-year prison sentence, his driver's license was permanently revoked and he was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.</p><p>Circuit Judge Robert Hodges also ordered that restitution be paid to the victim's family.</p><p>After the accident, Kusiak was found in the driver's seat of the car passed out and slumped toward the seat adjacent to him. Medical personnel at the scene said they smelled alcohol coming from Kusiak and other authorities reported that he was glassy-eyed and his speech was heavily slurred, the report said.</p><p>When taken to Leesburg Regional Medical Center, Kusiak failed field sobriety tests and was reported to have a blood alcohol content level of 0.245 on the first sample and then a 0.241 on the second. In Florida, a driver is presumed impaired when the level is 0.08.</p><p>Kusiak sustained minor injuries from the accident and was later released from the hospital.</p><p>In court, Kusiak was quiet and reserved, garbed in a gray sweater with black horizontal stripes. He made no comments regarding the accident to the judge.</p><p>Shortly after Hodges accepted the plea, a bailiff shackled Kusiak with handcuffs and he was taken into custody.</p><p><i>Contact Vishal Persaud at (352) 867-4065 or at vishal.persaud@starbanner.com.</i></p>